Sleep is like the secret ingredient to student success and productivity, because despite its simplicity, missing it will ruin the whole recipe. That means it’s also very easy to overlook and tricky to balance. Students often don’t realize that without enough sleep, their talent and effort can’t reach their full potential. In the same way, a person can spend hours trying to perfect a recipe, but missing the secret ingredient changes the outcome of the recipe entirely. When students lack enough sleep, they struggle to retain memories, focus and comprehend information fast enough in school, and unlock their creativity and problem-solving skills. So, if minds are clouded with exhaustion, what will happen to the sparks of potential hidden behind the shadows?
According to American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), teenagers ages 13-18 should sleep 8-10 hours every 24 hours. Doctor Zeeshan Khan, a pediatrician, says that longer REM sleep starts after 4 hours of continuous sleep, during which whatever you learned in school is highly condensed into intellectual and visual memory. “Less sleep leads to forgetfulness, foggy brain, and lack of energy to think harder for study material,” says Sarah Wahab, a sophomore. Being asked if she remembers what she studied on test day with more or less sleep, Sarah says that she remembers what she studied with more sleep.
In addition to this, lack of sleep means a student’s brain doesn’t get enough time to recharge, like how a phone’s battery must be recharged to work. It’ll never function at zero percent. That’s why a student running on little to no sleep won’t be able to focus in school or comprehend information fast enough. “Whenever I get 7-9 hours of sleep, I feel more focused and I feel like I can get more stuff done throughout the day. Whenever I get less than 7 hours of sleep, I feel lazy and I tend to procrastinate,” says Zoha Calton, another sophomore. Doctor Zeeshan Khan also says that less sleep in the night will lead to more daytime sleepiness, thus degrading focus and comprehension skills in school.
Without focus, comprehension skills, and memory retention, the sparks of creativity and problem solving skills will stay trapped behind the clouds of exhaustion due to lack of sleep, never being able to show their brightness. “I have more creative ideas and solve problems better when I get 7+ hours of sleep,” says Aiza Sajid, a sophomore. Some students might feel like sleeping enough will waste their precious study time, but just like when the secret ingredient is added to the dish, and its results aren’t seen immediately, sleep is the same way. But, when the person tastes that dish, they realize they’d never for a second regret adding the secret ingredient. Sleep is the same way, and patience always results in reward. If these sparks of potential are ignited with enough sleep, their radiance would stretch across the entire horizon, making the beautiful colors of the sky look stunning to their fullest potential, and a student’s productivity fueled to its maximum.
